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Mail journalist Barry Edwards dies of rare cancer aged 72

Highly regarded former Daily Mail journalist Barry Edwards has died peacefully aged 72 after battling a rare form of cancer.

He held several senior positions on the newspaper, was regarded as a brilliant journalist by colleagues, and was much valued for his unstinting hard work and wise counsel by his superiors.

Born in Hampshire, he moved to Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, aged ten, where he attended a grammar school, leaving at the age of 17 to fulfil his dream of becoming a journalist after being offered a job as a trainee reporter on the Lincolnshire Times.

He went on to work at the now-defunct Hull and Yorkshire Times and then the Nottingham Evening Post, where he moved into sub-editing. 

He joined the Daily Mail in 1979, where his talents were quickly recognised and he was promoted up the ranks to the senior post of deputy night editor. 

© Provided by Daily Mail Barry Edwards, pictured here while working for the Daily Mail, was much valued for his unstinting hard work and wise counsel by his superiors

After retiring in 2005, he enjoyed life with his wife Glenis, spending time looking after their grandchildren and playing golf, an abiding passion of his. 

Glenis and he were due to celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary next month.

He became ill with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare type of cancer where your bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells, when he was 70.

He passed away on May 23. As well as his beloved Glenis, he leaves their sons Paul and Tim, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The funeral service is due to take place at noon on June 24 at North Hertfordshire Memorial Park and Crematorium, Holwell, Hitchin, followed by a wake at Letchworth Golf Club. Donations to the Macmillan cancer unit at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage.